Regina's Blog

I just returned from a few days in San Francisco. One of the highlights of my trip was visiting Alcatraz. I learned so much history. I'm always amazed
at how much I don't know! As soon as we arrived a Park Ranger met us. He was funny, engaging, knowledgeable and a pleasure to listen to. His public
speaking skills were awesome! During my vacation, I was constantly reminded how useful public speaking skills are. September is always a good time
to refocus on our personal development. If improving your public speaking skills is part of your 2018 personal development plan, give me a call and
we will schedule a training program or some individual coaching. The ten tips I cover during Presentation Skills Training include:

In today’s global business environment, sharing information with remote audiences via web conferencing and webinars has quickly replaced face to face
meetings and live training. Web conferencing is convenient and cost effective for global organizations. There are a variety of vendors that offer
web conferencing and webinars at a variety of price points. I use Citrix Go to Webinars to deliver webinars; it is user friendly
and affordable. Some of my clients use WebEx, Adobe Connect and Microsoft Office Live Meeting for their conferencing
needs. WebEx is the most senior Web conferencing provider on the market today. Whoever you chose to work with, make sure that
they offer technical assistance.

Delivering information via web conferencing and webinars can be challenging, especially in the beginning. First, how do we know people are really listening
if we can’t see them? Even if we can see them via a webcam, we still don’t know if they are actively listening. Another challenge is that most
audiences are culturally diverse and usually in different time zones.Most of the clients that I work with have struggled with effectively communicating
during web conferencing. They know that they must use web conferencing but they don’t know how to engage the remote listeners.

If you keep doing the same things, you will keep getting the same results! If you want to do something new, like climb a mountain, finish a triathlon,
open a business or start a new career you have to be willing to create a new plan for yourself.

During the past 20+ years, I have facilitated thousands of Presentation Skills training programs. Every participant received coaching and
suggestions for keeping their audience engaged. If you or someone who you work with would like to schedule some Presentation Skills training
please call us today at 845-294-7089. We would love to work with you!

Champions perform well under pressure and win. They prepare themselves to be in peak physical and psychological condition. They face their competition
head on and go for it, no holding back. In business, having the mindset of a champion will help you reach your strategic goals and be competitive.

Effective speakers use visual language to engage the audience. Your hand gestures, facial expression, posture, movement and eye contact are critical components of your visual language. When you take the stage, always maintain eye contact with the audience, not with the screen behind you. Make sure you are appropriately and professionally dressed for the occasion. Make sure your appearance is neat and clean. You don’t need to have a $1000 suit but you need to be dressed appropriately. You don’t want the audience to remember you because your slip was showing or because your shirt was wrinkled. Don’t wear anything that is distracting and takes away from your message. For example, 20 bangle bracelets that make noise every time you gesture is not a great idea. Practice your hand gestures and body movement when you rehearse your speech. Your hand gestures should complement your language, not distract the audience. If you are a mess, the audience will perceive that you don’t know what you are talking about. Don’t forget to smile! When you smile it looks like you are enjoying the audience.

Ten years ago, I was in the audience as Dr. Sally Ride delivered the opening keynote address at the Society for Women Engineers National Conference in
Detroit, Michigan. I was at the conference to moderate a panel on work/life balance. I vividly remember Sally’s charm, humor, passion and brilliance!

In today’s global business environment, sharing information with remote audiences via web conferencing and webinars has quickly replaced face to face meetings and live training. Web conferencing is convenient and cost effective for global organizations. There are a variety of vendors that offer web conferencing and webinars at a variety of price points. I use Citrix Go to Webinars to deliver webinars; it is user friendly and affordable. Some of my clients use WebEx, Adobe Connect and Microsoft Office Live Meeting for their conferencing needs. WebEx is the most senior Web conferencing provider on the market today. Whoever you chose to work with, make sure that they offer technical assistance.

Business presentations do not have to be boring! As a matter of fact, most content is not boring, it’s the speaker who is boring. Usually speakers are boring because they don’t know how to have fun when standing in front of an audience. If the speaker is boring, the audience will definitely be bored. If the speaker has some fun, the audience will be engaged and retain the information that the speaker is communicating. Having fun is definitely the way to go. Here are a few ways to add some fun or spice to your business presentations.